WOOTTON Bassett boss Jeff Roberts was left to rue missed opportunities after witnessing his side draw 2-2 at Newbury in the Hellenic League Premier Division yesterday.

Bassett led 2-0 in Berkshire following first-half goals from Ryan Stanners, but two efforts in the final 20 minutes denied them a first win since December 11.

“In the first half we had plenty of chances and could have easily been four or 5-0 up at half-time,” said Roberts.

“At the end of the day we’ve got to take our chances and we sat back in the second half and let them come onto us a little bit, although we still had chances ourselves.

“We looked a bit sluggish and it wasn’t the best of games to watch. After the Christmas period, we looked slow and could have done a lot better and had the three points we desperately needed.

“Against the top sides we seem to up our game and compete but against the likes of Newbury and Abingdon we haven’t done that and have relaxed too much.”

Stanners opened the scoring after 18 minutes when he latched on to Levi Cox’s flick and rounded the keeper before slotting home.

Cox had the chance to double the lead shortly after when Fraser Joyce was brought down in the box, but the keeper saved his spot kick.

That didn’t seem to matter when Stanners applied a classy finish shortly before half-time.

However, Newbury pulled one back midway through the second period and then equalised after Bassett failed to defend a corner.

Meanwhile, striker Sam Collier has departed for Thatcham following a short spell at the Corinium.

Collier rejected a move to Thatcham earlier in the season in favour of Bassett but has now had a change of heart.

Roberts added: “I know he scored a few goals when he was here, but I thought he might have stayed with us a bit longer and got some more confidence.

“It’s disappointing but there’s not a lot we can do about it now.”